Movie Review:Le Havre(2011)

Director:Aki Kaurismaki
Writer:Aki Kaurismaki
Cast:
Andre Wilms->Marcel Marx
Kati Outinen->Arletty
Jean-Pierre Daroussin->Monet
Blondin Miguel->Idrissa

THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPOILERS AHEAD


Le Havre is a film about a shoe-shiner that attempts to save an underage immigrant.It's a good premise,but this subject feels more appropiate for a drama,more than a comedy.This was my opinion,before the movie.But,when the movie started,I was surprised by the unbelievable amount of tasteful and quirky humor.

There is some sort of resemblance to Sylvain Chomet's film,L'Illusioniste(2010),which is also about an old man that takes a young girl under his wing,but that isn't why I thought they seemed to very much alike.It's the fact that Le Havre(even though it's not an animation feature)feels very cartoonish.The characters mostly.Especially,the nosey(no pun intended) cop,Monet.Plus,the main character,Marcel is as cynical as The Illusionist was.

Also,Kaurismaki uses colorful sets and balanced cinematography(in terms of color),which gives us the sensation of an animated film.

A thing that I didn't like about this film,was the obvious cliche on which it stands.That Marcel keeps growing on this kid,Idrissa.I know that this couldn't have been any other way(or I can't just figure one out) and it bugs me.

I loved this film's compability in different genres in some scenes.Most of the scenes with Monet have a noir aura around them.The scenes with Marcel and his wife are very romantic.And so on and so forth.

This ends up being much,much more than a light comedy; it ends up being an emotional,special and witty film.I haven't seen anything else by Kaurismaki 9 out of 10.